Masking our emotions

There is little doubt that masks have been, quite literally, life savers duing the Covid-19 pandemic. However, many people have found wearing them an uncomfortable experience. One reason for this may be that masks restrict our ability to read facial expressions — akey information source in non-verbal communication. In the nineteenth century, Charles Darwin pointed out the importance of facial expression in aiding co-operation and reducing misunderstanding. The two key areas of the face, when it comes to reading expressions, are the mouth and eyes. Masks effectively remove the mouth from the equation.

A key to successful communication is empathy — the ability to perceive and respond to emotional states in others. One mechanism by which this takes place is facial mimicry. In one study, the effects of interfering with facial mimicry were investigated by preventing mouth movement (Birch-Hurst et al. 2021). The researchers found that removing visible mouth movement from interaction prevents perception of positive emotional states like friendliness and happiness. But it did not prevent perception of fear, which is more likely to be communicated through the eyes. So, when we wear masks, it seems that our ability to communicate friendly intentions is to some extent inhibited.